Management of Mind
Why do we need mind management?
Psychologists say every thought process (desire or feeling) whether positive or negative is born as a seed. It can be discarded or nurtured to yield results. All negative thought processes should be discarded and positive thought processes nurtured. That is because there is an amazing relationship between the unconscious and conscious processes in the mind.
Another benefit of regular practice of meditation is long-term resilience. Research shows that people who practice meditation regularly recover from stressful situations more easily and experience less stress from the challenges they face in everyday lives. Furthermore, people who practice meditation regularly find it easier to give up life-damaging habits like smoking, drinking, and drugs.
Mind management consists of the following:
- Management of emotions – Based on the hedonistic premise that individuals are motivated for pleasure and against pain, mood management theory states that to the extent possible individuals tend to arrange their environment so that good mood (commonly pleasure) is maintained or maximized and bad mood (commonly pain) is diminished or alleviated. Managing emotions plays an important role as a prerequisite in achieving it.
- Management of senses – Sensory management begins from the fundamentals – the five sense of the human body. In the ‘Yoga Sutras’ of Patanjali Maharshi, the sage explains about avoiding unnecessary and unwanted inputs from the basic five senses of the body via the practice called ‘IndriyaNigraha’ – the ability to shield oneself from information which might lead to undesirable instinctive reactions.
- Management of crisis – There are three elements common to a crisis: (a) threat, (b) element of surprise, and (c) a short timeframe to make decisions. This is a process by which an individual or organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that poses a threat. Management of crisis helps in overcoming any type of crisis regardless of magnitude of the same.
- Metamorphosing negativity to positivity – Human mind is where the inception of thoughts happen, both negative and positive. Based on a clinical survey, it has been concluded that humans have an estimated 60000 thoughts in a day, out of which 40000 of them are negative – a whopping 80% of the number. Consciously and subconsciously, these thoughts affect our ‘samskaras’ and need to be metamorphosed into positivity which can be achieved with the help of yogic practices.
- Achieving clarity of thought – The quality of human life is directly proportional to the state of his/her mind. A sound mind conveys positive thoughts, thereby helping in maintaining a sound body, and thus a healthy lifestyle. The only way to go about it is by ridding the mind of apathy and despair through yoga and discipline, consequently leading to clarity in thoughts.
